Category: X22 Alerts
Costly Greece: IMF says lenders need to 'forget' about €7.4bn of its loans
On: August 1, 2013 August 3, 2013 By: X22 Reporter
[stextbox id="x22report"]Countries that are bailed out with debt can never repay the debt if they need to layoff people to receive the debt. With unemployment so high in Greece and business doing poorly the Greek people cannot contribute to payoff the debt. Sooner or later Greece will not be able to take on anymore debt and it will collapse and soon after the rest of the world will collapse.[/stextbox]
Eurozone governments should be prepared to write off big chunks of their loans to Greece, around about €7.4bn within the next two years, according to the IMF.
To make Greek debt manageable, the country's lenders may be forced to accept big losses on their aid to the Athens, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told in its fourth review of Greece's performance under an economic program it must follow to qualify for the loans.
Almost all of the Greek debt is now held by European governments. In 2013 it's expected to go up to the sky-high 176% of the country's GDP.
"If investors are not persuaded that the policy for dealing with the debt problem is credible, investment and growth will be unlikely to recover as programmed," the IMF said in the 207-page report. "Should debt sustainability concerns prove to be weighing on investor sentiments even with the framework for debt relief now in place, European partners should consider providing relief that would entail a faster reduction in debt than currently programmed."
It's not the first time the IMF has called on the government lenders to write off part of their loans to struggling Greece. The main thing that's changing is the scale of the losses.
The new report comes just 2 months ahead of the polls in Germany, which can become a real problem for its current Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Ms Merkel and other members of her ruling Christian Democratic Union have insisted Greece should pay its debt back in full; that there would be no "haircuts" on their bailout loans, the Financial Times (FT) said.
On Wednesday, German officials said Greece was hitting all of its bailout targets. The German finance ministry spokesman, Martin Kotthaus, said recent action by the Greek government inspired hope into the financial markets, with any further calls for help probably undermining improving sentiment.
However, in the words of German's budget spokesman for the opposition Social Democratic party Carsten Schneider the IMF had "told the bitter truth yet again" and the current financial turmoil in the Athens resulted from the "failed policy that has been decisively pursued" by Ms Merkel.
US has no plan to withdraw from Afghanistan: John Kerry
[stextbox id="x22report"]The truth is finally out, the US has no plans to withdraw from Afghanistan. Why? Because of the poppy fields, copper, lithium and other natural resources. China is making deals to help with mining of copper. The central bankers are hungry for hard assets and Afghanistan has alot of them, so the US is not going anywhere.[/stextbox]
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US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington has no plan to withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan even after the 2014 pullout deadline.
"We are drawing down, not withdrawing," Kerry said in a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday.
Speaking alongside Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs, Kerry told reporters that the US will maintain a significant military presence in Afghanistan far beyond the 2014 deadline.
Kerry said he was confident that the US authorities will reach agreement with Afghanistan on the future level of troops.
Washington had promised to withdraw all combat forces from Afghanistan by 2014. However, it has been locked in tricky negotiations with Kabul over a strategic partnership beyond 2014.
In May, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government was ready to let the US set up nine bases across Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw in 2014.
President Karzai recently said his government would only sign the deal if it led to a stronger, safer, and more united Afghanistan. Kabul has, however, suspended the official talks.
In the meantime, Abdul Karim Khoram, the presidential chief of staff, warned that Kabul will have to pay a heavy price for giving military bases to the United States.
Many Afghans believe that the US is envisaging permanent military bases there.
Afghan political groups have warned that things will get worse should the US set up permanent military bases in Afghanistan.
Afghan political figures have also heaped scorn on US-led forces for committing unforgivable crimes against Afghan women and children since invading the country in 2001.
Thousands of Afghan civilians, including a large number of women and children, have been killed during the night raids by foreign forces and CIA-run assassination drone strikes.
The increasing number of casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger against the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war.
Aleppo massacre aimed at erasing evidence implicating West: Analysis
A political expert says the recent massacre in the Syrian town of Khan al-Assal was a Western-backed measure to cover up the militants' use of chemical weapons there back in March, Press TV reports.
In an article published on Press TV's website on Thursday, Finian Cunningham said the evidence on the ground in Khan al-Assal had to be erased to prevent "grave criminal implications for Western governments and their covert involvement in Syria's 30-month-old conflict."
Cunningham cited reports revealing that the Western-backed al-Qaeda-linked militants had been found in possession of the nerve agent sarin on Turkish soil. He also quoted a June Washington Post report on a US military program in Jordan aimed at training the Jordanian military in the handling of chemical weapons.
Cunningham said the reports about the militants' activities in southern Turkey and Jordan in cooperation with the CIA and British MI6 indicate that "chemical weapons are part of the arsenal that the Western governments and their regional allies have been furnishing their proxy paramilitaries with inside Syria."
He pointed to a Russian investigation that found Western-backed militants were behind the March chemical attack, which prompted the UN investigators to meet with Syrian authorities, where they promised a forthcoming in-depth investigation.
Cunningham explained that such an investigation would have involved collecting samples and interviewing witnesses in Khan al-Assal about what happened during the attack on March 19, and would have most likely agreed with the Russian study, which found anti-Syria militants behind the mass murder.
This, the expert said, confirms that Western-sponsored terror groups have been using these weapons with the full or tacit knowledge of Western governments and their military agencies.
"Given this potentially damning picture that was forming around Khan al-Assal, it is not implausible that Western-backed death squads were dispatched on the town last weekend in a desperate attempt to exterminate any remaining witnesses to the first massacre with chemical weapons," he proposed.
"For the Western sponsors of genocide in Syria, the stakes could not have been higher on that particular truth coming out. That is why the truth had to be massacred," Cunningham concluded.
In late July, armed terrorist groups killed at least 123 people, mostly civilians but also including military personnel, during an attack on Khan al-Assal, in Aleppo Governorate. They mutilated the corpses, throwing them into a crater outside town and incinerated the bodies of a number of other victims.
Up to 30 people were killed and some 100 others were also seriously injured on March 19, when the town was hit by a chemical attack that involved the deadly nerve agent, sarin.
The massacre came as Western powers and their regional allies – including the Israeli regime, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – continue to support militant groups, including al-Qaeda-linked terrorists, in Syria.
The Arab country has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced in the violence.
Aleppo massacre aimed at erasing evidence implicating West: …
Car Sales Miss Expectations Across The Board
[stextbox id="x22report"]It is very difficult for the public to purchase cars when most of the people are unemployed, underemployed or are receiving disability checks. The drop in disposable income and the drop in credit worthy people is taking its toll on the auto industry.[/stextbox]
While much is being made of the ISM smash this morning and China's 'official' PMI overnight, it seems cognitive dissonance is on the rise as China's 'other' PMI collapsed and US Construction Spending dropped precipitously. It was only a month ago that ISM was sub-50 and that housing (and construction spending) was set to lift us out of the growth-scare. Apparently not. But there is another pillar of this recovery that has been stalwart during the equity market rally – that of US auto sales… until now…
*FORD U.S. VEHICLE SALES UP 11%, EST. UP 17%
*GM JULY U.S. VEHICLE SALES RISE 16%, EST. UP 20%
*CHRYSLER JULY U.S. VEHICLE SALES UP 11%, EST. UP 16%
It seems that all that channel-stuffing, subprime-lending, term-extending has hit its peak as, despite smiles and being 'pleased', US auto companies are underperforming expectations (as Ferrari exceeds).
White House 'extremely disappointed' with Russia
[stextbox id="x22report"]The US want Snowden back for leaking information on what the NSA was doing. The NSA is in violation of the 4th Amendment, they were spying on Americans. They are they ones that need to be held accountable. They continually lie to the public, first we are not spying, then we only collect meta data, now we collect all data but we don't listen to it. So who is in the wrong, who are the traitors.[/stextbox]
The United States is "extremely disappointed" in Russia's decision to grant asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the White House said Thursday.
In its first public response to Russia's move to defy U.S. wishes, the Obama administration said it was not a positive development for U.S.-Russia relations and said that it undermined Russia's record of law enforcement cooperation with the U.S. The White House added that a planned fall summit between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin is being re-evaluated here.
"We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and private that Mr. Snowden be expelled and returned to the United States," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Carney said that Moscow had given the U.S. no advance notice before announcing its decision to grant Snowden asylum for one year. But he added that the U.S. has a wide-ranging relationship with Russia, suggesting the U.S. was reluctant to allow relations to deteriorate too substantially over the American fugitive's status.
Snowden left the transit zone of a Moscow airport and officially entered Russia after authorities granted him asylum, his lawyer said. The U.S. demanded that Russia send Snowden home to face prosecution for espionage over his leaks that revealed wide U.S. electronic surveillance programs, but Putin dismissed the request.
The move by Moscow Thursday could further strain U.S.-Russian relations that have already been tested because of differences over Syria, American criticism of Russia's human rights record and other disputes. Putin has said that his decision on asylum was contingent on Snowden not hurting U.S. interests.
Carney wouldn't say whether Snowden is in possession of further information about spying practices that could damage the U.S. if released, but said the fact that Snowden removed classified information from secure environments, bringing documents with him to Hong Kong and then to Moscow's airport, posed a risk in and of itself
"Mr. Snowden is not a whistleblower" or a dissident," Carney said. "He is accused of leaking classified information.He should be returned to the United States as soon as possible."
Boehner Prepares To Kick The Can Again: "It's In The Nation's Interest"
[stextbox id="x22report"]The can will be kicked down the street once more, they will raise the debt ceiling for the 15th time and it will be business as usual. The government is out of control with spending and they can't stop, if they stop all programs will cease to function and they are not about to have this happen. The revenue being brought in by taxes is not enough to sustain what the government spends. [/stextbox]
While vainly attempting to look like he is still in the driver's seat, it would appear that John Boehner has once again folded on fiscal conservancy. "It's clear that we're not going to have the appropriations bills finished by Sept. 30," Boehner noted this morning, adding "I believe a continuing resolution for some short period of time would probably be in the nation's interest." So it's for our own good – especially as the Fed is set to Taper – that we keep borrowing and spending. But, Boehner adds after seemingly kicking the can, "the idea of operating for an entire year under a CR is not a good way to do business. And I've been working try to find a way to actually do all of these appropriations bills." Indeed, get back to work, Mr. Boehner.
Via Politico,
House Speaker John Boehner said Congress should pass a short-term government funding bill in September, but he still wants to finish the eight spending bills that the House hasn't completed.
Congress has struggled to pass spending bills this year, so Boehner's goal seems a bit lofty to say the least.
Most of the government has been operated under a CR since March, but the fiscal fights start anew next month. The government runs out of cash on Sept. 30. Congress leaves town Friday until Sept. 9.
Obama To Meet With Lawmakers On NSA Surveillance
[stextbox id="x22report"]If the NSA spying was so great and they need to stop terrorist why didn't they know anything about the Boston Bombing, oh that's right because they were the ones that caused the false flag. The spying is to blackmail government officials, judges, spy on investors, patents and people. It is being used to place people into categories and place them on lists to be rounded up during the economic collapse.[/stextbox]
President Barack Obama continued to defend the National Security Agency's widespread surveillance programs behind closed doors to Senate Democrats on Wednesday, but on Thursday he faces a tougher audience.
But according to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the president was firm in his defense of the programs in their current form.
"He was very strong about the fact of keeping America safe and doing it in a way that respects the privacy of Americans," Cardin told reporters in response to a question from HuffPost. "He felt there's always ways to improve, but that the knowledge factor of what is being done currently, if most Americans really focused on it, they would want us to do what they're doing."
Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and serves on the Intelligence Committee, said Obama reiterated his call for a "balance" between privacy and national security, but also invoked the Boston Marathon bombings as an example of where data collected by the NSA helped "identify whether there was a great plot."
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